August 3, 2009
Paramilitary troops patrolled the streets of a
town in eastern
Hundreds of armed supporters of
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed Islamic militant group, set alight dozens of
Christian homes in Gojra town at the weekend after allegations that a copy of
the Koran had been defiled.
The
mob opened fire indiscriminately, threw petrol bombs and looted houses as
thousands of frightened Christians ran for safety. “They were shouting
anti-Christian slogans and attacked our houses,” Rafiq Masih, a resident of the
predominantly Christian colony, said. Residents said that police stood aside
while the mob went on the rampage. “We kept begging for protection, but police
did not take action,” Mr Masih said.```
Police
and local officials said that at least eight people, including four women and a
child, were killed in the fires. Two others died of gunshot wounds. Residents
said that the casualties were much higher; one claimed that the number of dead
could be in the dozens as many bodies were still buried under the
rubble.Shahbaz Bhatti, the Minister for Minorities, said that 40 Christian
homes were torched in rioting. He said there was no truth to allegations that a
Koran had been defiled, and accused the police of ignoring his appeal to
provide protection to Christians
Tension
started mounting last week after Muslims accused three Christian youths of
burning a copy of the Koran. They denied the allegations, but clerics called
for their death. On Saturday hundreds of supporters of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an
outlawed Sunni sectarian group, poured into the town from surrounding
districts. The group is believed to have close links with al-Qaeda and has been
involved in several terrorist attacks targeting security forces in recent
years.
Television
footage showed armed men running through the streets, gunfire, and women and
children wailing. Blackened furniture lay outside burning homes, while a group
of people rushed a man suffering from burns on a cart through the streets.
Rehman Malik, the Interior Minister, said that the paramilitary troops were
sent after police and the local administration failed to control the situation.
Security forces were also placed on high alert to prevent violence from
spreading to other towns of
Security
in Gojra, which has a Christian population of about 50,000, was tightened
yesterday as funerals were held for the eight victims. Christians make up a
small minority of
Christians
also face intimidation because of discriminatory blasphemy laws, including one
that carries the death penalty for defiling the Koran and images of the Prophet
Muhammad. The law is often misused to settle personal scores.